§ 57. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Minister of Labour in which industries wages remained constant during 1927 and how many workpeople were employed in these industries; and whether he can state the real decrease in wages of the 1,855,000 workpeople whose weekly wages suffered a net decrease of £388,500 in 1927, allowing for the fall in prices and decrease in the cost of living?
§ Mr. BETTERTONAmong the principal branches of industry in which no change in wage rates was reported in 1927 were the following: cotton, wool, shipbuilding, chemicals, pottery, printing, flour milling, leather manufacture, gas supply, tramways, the dock and shipping services, coal mining in Northumberland and Durham, and the building industry (with a few exceptions). It is not possible, however, to give any reliable figure for the number of workpeople in these and other industries whose wages remained unchanged. The decrease in the real wages of those workpeople who sustained a net reduction in 1927 cannot be stated exactly, but is estimated to average approximately 4 per cent. In the case of the great majority of wage-earners, real wages increased during the year.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYDoes not the hon. Gentleman's answer belie what the Prime Minister told the electors of Hanley on this subject?
§ Mr. W. THORNEWill the hon. Gentleman consult with the President of 812 the Board of Trade, and see whether it is possible to print in a White Paper the answer to a question which I put to the President of the Board of Trade?